David Chapman
Latham
was born on 26 May 1844 at Boden Place, Ardwick near Manchester,
Lancashire. He maried Elizabeth Thomas (born c. 1839, also at
Ardwick) at St John's, Manchester on 30 March 1865. They moved from Cheetham,
near
Manchester, to Buxton, Derbyshire after the birth of their first child
Henrietta, later in 1865. They then had three sons, Herbert,
Alfred and
Thomas
in Buxton between 1868 and 1874.

David C.
Latham was working
as a photographer at least as early as 1871, when he was listed at
Eagle Parade, Buxton
in the census, and in 1881 was shown living at 1 St James Villas,
Hartington road
in Buxton. Entries in Kelly's 1881 and 1887 trade
directories,
however,
show that this was a lodging house, and suggest that his primary
business
was in letting out "first-class furnished apartments." It is
possible
that he was then working as an assistant at one of the longer
established
studios such as that of B.W. Bentley,
since he was not listed in trade directories as a
photographer
until 1891. Information from a great-grandson suggests that
he
was
indeed working for Bentley. By the census of April 1891,
however,
he had opened a
studio at The Grove on Station Road, and his eldest son Herbert, then
aged
22, was working there as an assistant. The younger sons
Alfred
(20) and Thomas (16) were a commercial traveller and stationer's
assistant,
respectively. The family later lived at 24 Bath Street.

David Latham
was still
in Buxton in 1901, when both Herbert and Thomas appear to have been
working
in the studio. Alfred had by this time married and moved to
Levenshulme,
Lancashire, where he is described in the census as a tea
traveller.
Adamson (1997) states that Latham was in business until 1913, but
Kelly's
1912 directory has no listing for this studio. D.C. Latham
died
at Buxton on 5 August 1922.